CBI is expected to present its version at next date
The hearing on the petition filed by Shyam Divan, senior advocate and amicus curiae in the Odisha chit fund scam case, seeking Supreme Court monitoring of the CBI investigation has been posted for November 14.
Moving the petition on behalf of Alok Jena, whose PIl led to the apex court ordering the ongoing CBI probe into the scam, on November 5, the amicus curiae had argued that the Odisha Government had been creating all kinds of impediments in the investigation in the case. Despite repeated reminders by the CBI, the Government had been refusing to part with crucial documents needed for the probe to progress, Divan had stated.
Paucity of staff and the refusal of the State Government to extend necessary support in the form of men and materials had hindered the investigation. As a result, the CBI has been able to take up the cases of just four of the 44 companies under investigation though over five months have passed since the probe began, the amicus curiae had pointed out.
After hearing the arguments, a Division Bench of Justice TS Thakur and Justice R Banumathi had posted the hearing of the petition to next week. The CBI is expected to present its version at the next hearing since the Supreme Court had wondered in the brief hearing on November 5 as to why the agency had not approached the court if it had been facing hurdles in the investigation.